Undercover
by Princessss
Summary: Padma Patil has lost her parents, her family and her friends. Her only chance of survival is to integrate herself into the wizarding world but they are looking for her. Time for Padma to disappear... *I do not own any of the characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates* [QLFC Round 9 (FF Reserve Seeker) - Shakespeare 'Twelfth Night']


Heavy, black smoke filled the night sky as the great flames at the centre of the forest climbed higher and higher, reaching above the tall tree tops. The humongous, suffocating cloud stretched on for miles and miles, still growing as the fire crackled loudly and engulfed the surrounding woodland. Multi-coloured beams of light illuminated the forest and the screams of terror that accompanied them were deafening compared to the roaring of the flames. The Death Eaters had found their hidden camp and they were not at all forgiving. Every tent in the clearing had been set ablaze while hundreds of cloaked and masked individuals brandished their wands after anyone they could see. Parents were screaming, children were crying, and friends were lost.

Padma Patil stood rigidly on top of the opposite hill looking down in horror at the chaos she and her sister had left behind. Tears continued to stream down her face as she stood facing the carnage frozen from the pain. Padma was faintly aware of her sister, Parvati, doubled over on the ground beside her. The two sisters continued to sob as they mourned the loss of their parents in the battle. Their father, Vikram Patil, was struck down by a killing curse in front of their very eyes as he provided the distraction that allowed them to escape. Their mother, Lolita, had been running with them away from the battle when a child's scream brought the three of them to a standstill. A small boy was trapped inside a burning tent and Lolita jumped inside to save him. The two girls watched long enough to see the flames engulf their mother when Parvati dragged Padma through the forest and to the spot they now both stood.

The beams of multi-coloured light seemed to be edging towards the edge of the forest where the two of them were standing. Padma was still unable to move as her grief seemed to have consumed her entire being. _Mama… Papa..._ The only two words Padma could manage to repeatedly think coherently, each laced intricately with pain and sorrow. Someone was desperately pulling on the sleeve of Padma's jacket, presumably attempting to pull her farther away, however she barely noticed them and didn't bother to try. _They're gone,_ Padma thought to herself, _they're gone forever._ The force pulling Padma's jacket seemed to struggle harder against the force of her frozen state at first before finally giving up the attempt. Again Padma barely noticed this until Parvati's tear stained face appeared in front of her own, bringing her crashing back to reality.

"We've got to go," Parvati screamed, attempting to push Padma down the opposite side of the hill. "Please, Padma. Please…. We've got to run!"

Reality snapped back into focus and Padma was now running with has much haste as her sister away from the fight. The two of them continued to run down the hill and across the small brook at its base, aiming for the shelter of the nearby trees. Her breath was ragged and uneven but the adrenaline in her system didn't allow her to break a single stride. Padma clutched her sister's hand more tightly as the distance between them and safety closed dramatically. Just as the two of them were about to reach the forest's edge a beam of red light hit the ground in front of them and burst into flames, causing the two of them to fall to the ground and let go of one another.

"Parvati... PARVATI….." Padma screamed as more jets of light flew past her head.

Other screams were mixed in with her own. It seemed that a few others had managed to escape this far from the camp site as well. Padma jumped up casting the spells she had learnt in the DA lessons and seeing her sister safe but duelling a masked man. She ran towards the pair, continuing to cast spells at the enemies surrounding them. Unmistakably, Padma could see the direction the duel was going to end in and it was not good. The hooded figure blasted Parvati's wand out of her hand and continued to advance. At this Padma saw red and cast the strongest shield charm she had ever conjured between the two of them before the Death Eater had the chance to cast the curse that would end her sister's life.

"Padma," Parvati shouted in relief as she looked up towards her saviour. The two sisters barely had time to embrace before another curse shot past their heads.

"RUN," Padma screamed, grabbing Parvati's hand and heading further into the trees.

As they ran Parvati managed to scoop up her thankfully undamaged wand and continued to cast curse after curse over her shoulder. They could hear other survivors running in the same direction when the very distinct popping sound distracted them. Clearly they had escaped from the barrier that had prevented them from disapparating before, a fact that had also occurred to those survivors in the surrounding trees. The same popping sound echoed on all sides as their fellow survivors managed to escape.

"Let's go," Parvati screamed. "Meet at our special place."

Padma merely nodded in agreement and began to turn on the spot. Just as she disappeared into nothingness Padma saw a group of angry Death Eaters jump through the break in the trees, casting a spell at the exact spot she and Parvati were just disappearing from. The familiar feeling of being pressed through a tube was oddly comforting as she evaded their capture and in less than ten seconds Padma was thankfully free of the constriction as she gulped in the glorious, cold fresh air of their secret garden. Turning to smile at her twin, the only member of her family left, Padma realised that she was oddly alone. Panic set in and her smile faltered. _NO,_ Padma thought as the pain set in. Both of her knees buckled beneath her and Padma found herself curled on the ground sobbing in their beautifully kept garden.

Time came to mean nothing. It seemed to continue passing but Padma couldn't keep track of it. She was vaguely aware that it rained at one point but it didn't bother her. Nothing would ever bother her again. The animals of the garden seemed to know something was wrong and warily kept their distance, all except the fluffy, white Kneazle they'd named Amelia as children. Amelia snuggled against Padma's side throughout the rainy night. It took Padma a while to regain control of her body after she had given herself over to her grief. Finally she managed to sit up for a while, stroking Amelia absentmindedly who had leapt softly onto her lap. Soon enough dawn broke and Padma realised that she could not stay in their garden – nobody was coming to meet her anymore. Standing up and allowing Amelia to prance off, presumably to catch her breakfast, Padma turned on the spot and let her mind focus on her destination.

Not sparing a glance for her old home Padma walked straight into their kitchen, her mind already racing ahead. She grabbed their pair of rusty kitchen shears and stalked into their small, unused bathroom. Closing her eyes, Padma cut the base of her braid and let it fall with a light thud to the floor. Not paying much attention to detail she began to even out the hair that was left. Once she was done, Padma surveyed herself in the small, aged mirror that hung above the sink and stared at the stranger looking back at her in the mirror. Her eyes were huge and red with dark circles bruising underneath them. There was a sallow tint to the stranger's skin and her cheek bones were far more prominent than Padma's had ever been. The biggest change was not the hair, though the finish look did intimidate her, but the strange look that seemed to be plastered upon her face. One thing was for sure, she was no longer Padma Patil.

Unwilling to linger in the old bedroom she had shared with her sister, Padma quickly packed a small backpack with some of her least frilly clothes, donning a pair of dark blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a grey zip-up hoody. Before pulling the t-shirt over her head Padma wrapped her chest tightly in a bandage she'd found in the medicine cabinet. _They won't be looking for a boy,_ she thought shrewdly to herself. Without even one last look at the life she was leaving behind Padma spun on the spot and focused on the one place that she needed to be, the only place she could think would be able to provide the information that she needed. The Leaky Cauldron.

Padma appeared down the small, dank alleyway adjacent to the small pub. For a few moments she gathered her thoughts, trying to think of the best way to approach the situation. Taking a deep breath Padma pushed open the creaky old door and stepped into the darkened pub. It was almost empty except a group of what she assumed were snatchers and two wizards who could not be much older than herself. Edging away from the snatchers Padma heard snippets of the conversation happening between the two wizards.

"… isn't really much of a choice these days," the taller of the two expressed.

"Perhaps, but it's better than nothing. Where for the love of Merlin is this guy?" the blonde boy replied sourly. At that moment the young man spotted Padma and whispered something to his companion. Tentatively, the blonde boy approached her. "Theophilius?"

For a moment Padma considered her options. _Can I pretend to be somebody else? Clearly he's not coming or the blond boy wouldn't be so anxious_. The blond boy stared at her, clearly wondering if she was mentally incompetant. Padma gave one curt nod and the blond boy and his tall companion visibly relaxed. The latter held his hand out to Padma in a gesture of welcome, a warm smile on his face. Padma answered a bit late but he grasped her hand back nonetheless. The blond boy, however, stalked out of the pub and the two of them followed as they made their way to their next destination. The taller boy kept up the conversation with Padma, his name turned out to be Quirin and the blond boy was called Horatio – both old family names. As they walked it still hadn't dawned on Padma where the three of them were heading until they arrived outside a run-down men's room.

"Got your coin?" Quirin smiled.

"I lost it," Padma replied, thinking on her feet.

"No worries, I've got a spare."

Quirin handed Padma a large, round token and they entered the toilets. Stepping into a stall Padma quickly understood what to do. Standing in the basin she pulled the leaver and came spiralling out into the large atrium. Padma barely had time to glance around before Horatio lead them towards a free elevator. He pushed the button and the lift began to move as they made their way to their destination. A few faces were recognisable and, not wanting to be recognised Padma kept her head down at these points. The voice in the lifts announced that it was level one and the three of them got out. He lead them through a series of hallways and stopped directly outside an office door which faced workers sitting at small desks, creating the same leaflet again and again. Knocking on the door a sickly sweet voice invited them in. To Padma's horror she recognised the person sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Hello, Horatio. Quirin," Dolores Umbridge nodded. "Who is this young man?"

"This is Theophilius Goshawk," Quirin introduced her. "He's the new team member."

"Ahhh…. Yes that's right," she smiled, getting up and walking around the desk. "How lovely to meet you. I assume you boys will make sure that Theophilius here is well looked after, hm?"

"Of course, madam," Quirin answered at once.

Clearly dismissed, they walked back into the large hallway and Horatio quickly sat down behind his desk without saying a word to her or Quirin. He obviously was not her biggest fan. However, Quirin turned to Padma with a smile and explained everything she needed to know before setting her up at her own individual desk with a stack of multi-coloured paper. Soon she was underway working like the rest of them, waving her wand repeatedly in the same motion, while musing over the events that had led her here. _It's probably the best place to be for information, but the worst place to be captured,_ Padma thought. With a sigh Padma got to work, resigning herself to the mindlessness of the job.

Padma continued to work under her old Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, all the while worried that one day Umbridge would recognise her for who she was. It was easier than she thought, to pretend to be this other person. It distracted Padma from her own pain. That was until work was over and there were no more distractions. While curling up in her temporary makeshift home each night, always alone, it made her dull work something to look forward to. It was odd continuing to see a few faces she recognised now working in the ministry from school. At times she had the wild idea to contact one of them, to get help. Yet there was no way to know who to trust. Some would inform on you if you said but one wrong word.

One such person Padma continued to see was Percy Weasley, who had been prefect and head boy in his time at school. Padma wondered whether he could help her. Yet, she knew that his actions were being watched regardless after his family went into hiding and so there was no hope of getting any message to him. At any possible time she could Padma had taken to checking her old DA coin for messages. She carried the thing around with her everywhere, terrified that she may miss an important signal that could possibly help her. There hadn't been any messages for a while though and Padma's hope of ever escaping began to wane. So it was until one glorious yet terrible day.

Work had ended and Padma was curled up on the moth-eaten mattress of her home, desperately focusing on the day's events in order to avoid the gaping black hole that seemed desperate to suck her in. Horatio had been warming to her since their first meeting and Padma now felt that they were good friends. Even if she wanted – no, needed - it to be more than that. Padma loved him and she knew that he could never love her. _He doesn't even know who I really am,_ she thought to herself. If anybody ever found out she'd probably be killed. It was in the middle of this desolate though that she felt it. The red burning hot of the large coin that sat in her pocket. Snatching it out of the lining Padma read the message.

 _Harry's back. We're fighting. Apparate in to the Hog's Head._

Without a second thought Padma grabbed her wand and sprung up from the floor. She ran out into the street that was pouring with rain and down a deserted alleyway. Padma kept running, attempting to get out of the busy street's line of sight. As she neared the centre of the alleyway Padma felt herself run straight into something big and hard. Looking upwards Padma found herself face to face with Quirin. The tall boy stared down at her, a sly smile plastered upon his lips. For a moment Padma was scared until her eyes adjusted and she saw who it was.

"Quirin," Padma blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Quirin replied, a smirk on his face, " _Theophilius._ Or should I say…. Padma?"

A mask of shock set upon Padma's face as she contemplated his words. Her tall friend raised his wand towards her and his lips began to form a curse. Before Padma had a chance to react a jet of red light hit Quirin squarely in the back, causing him to topple over. Padma stared at the newcomer, tensed for battle. He took one step forward and placed himself directly under the street light allowing Padma to see who he was. _Horatio._ The pair stared at one another for a few minutes, oblivious to all else. Suddenly they heard footsteps and Horatio jumped forward, grabbing Padma's hand.

"We've got to go," Horatio yelled. Padma nodded and gripped his arm tightly.

"HANG ON," Padma screamed.

Turning on the spot the two of them clung onto one another as they travelled to their destination. They appeared in the Hog's Head just in time to see someone disappearing through a portrait on the wall. Gathering that this was the way in to Hogwarts, Padma climbed through and followed the group down the dark tunnel. Neither her nor Horatio said a word to one another, though he gripped her hand more tightly as they journeyed on. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, Horatio stopped Padma before she climbed through the exit. Without a single word he lightly kissed her soft lips and stood back smiling at her. Padma grinned back and the two of them climbed out of the tunnel and into the room filled with her old class mates, including a person she never thought she'd see again.

"PADMA!" Parvati's scream silenced the entire room. The two sisters clutched at one another and vowed never to be parted again.


End file.
